Chapter 18: Preparing Correspondence

Objectives and Outcomes:

-Understand that correspondence, an important kind of technical communication, does not exist in a vacuum, nor does it have rigid format prescriptions.
-Compose correspondence using appropriate planning strategies, selecting appropriate content, and developing an appropriate organization so the document is legible, readable, and usable.
-Present good news in direct (descending) order. Present bad news in indirect (ascending) order.
-Positively influence readers’ perceptions of your professional competence by using direct language, adopting a you-attitude rather than an I- or we-attitude, focusing on readers rather than yourself, and avoiding exclusionary language.
-Understand and respond to the factors in the rhetorical situation that affect the composition and interpretation of correspondence.

Characterizing Correspondence

-Audience: Although notable exceptions exist, correspondence typically address one person or an identified group of people—for example, coworkers, managers, customers and clients, suppliers, and the press.
-Composing and Revising: Because you are usually familiar with your audience’s expectations and your content (queries from you or information for them), correspondence is often written fairly quickly and may not undergo as many revisions as other technical documents.
-Datedness: Because correspondence usually responds to a current situation, the information is most e-mail messages, memos, and letters need to be updated more frequently than other technical documents.

Delivering Correspondence
Headings:
-Check the To line of your e-mail message to confirm that you are responding to the appropriate person or persons (and not to an entire list if you don’t intend to.
-Include a brief descriptive note in the Subject field to aid reading, storing, and searching at the other end. “RE: RE: FWD: RE: Phone Call” is not a descriptive subject line.

Content:
-Cover only one topic per message to make replying, forwarding, or organizing achieved messages easier.

-Keep the message brief and on topic.
-Indicate the content of the original message when replying by quoting pertinent portions or by summarizing the subject. You do not need to copy the entire message.
-Do not respond immediately to a message that upsets you; in all cases, avoid flaming, which is an unprofessional, emotional, and usually rude electronic response. If you would be unprofessional to say the words over the phone or face-to-face, avoid sending them in an electronic message.
Audiences
-Write as if the whole world will read your message, because messages can be easily and accidentally forwarded.
-Confirm that the reciepent actually received and important message by asking for acknowledgement.

Conventions
-Begin with an appropriate saluation such as the person’s name. Do not begin a workplace e-mail with “Hey.” (Sometimes in a rapid-fire series of very short e-mails between a small group of people, salutations may be omitted after the initial identities have been established.)
-Spell and use words with care.
-Avoid emoticons and cutsey, abbreviated spellings in professional correspondence, such as J or “c u” for “see you.”
-Avoid using all caps. This is considered SHOUTING. Use upper- and lowercase text.

Composing E-Mail messages, Memos, and Letters
The following guidelines should help you compose effective correspondence:
-Include a descriptive subject line if appropriate.
-Address your audience directly.
-State objectives or ask questions initially; follow with explanatory material.
-Organize material in direct (descending) order if you anticipate a neutral or positive response.
-Organize material in indirect (ascending) order if you anticipate a negative response.
-Enumerate or bullet items for clarity.
-Be specific about the action (if any) that you want the reader to take.
-End with a friendly comment.

When composing e-mail, memos, and letters you should consider these factors to make your document more comprehensible usable:
-Attitude and tone
-Organization or information
-Format

Domino Effect of Correspondence
Any single message can trigger a series of e-mail messages, memos, and letters. It is all part of the communications process between and within companies.



The first example starts with a complaint letter to Tele-Robics, Inc. from a customer. This is then followed by a series of e-mails and memos. With each one there are specific guidelines and formats to organize the document.
-Complaint Letter from Customer
Audience: customer states complaint early and explicitly.
Professional practice: customer chooses a formal salutation, based on the fact that he doesn’t know the recipient of the letter.
Action: customer asks that the problem be corrected.
Information: customer reviews history of the problem, and states what has been done to try and fix the problem.
Format: customer chose a usable format and a standard block style.